Right off the bat, I apologize to any opera aficionados because this post is not about how Verdi’s classic can help you create great website content. This post is about another timeless classic – the AIDA model of sales and marketing – which includes Awareness (or Attention, for some), Interest, Desire (or Decision), and Action. That is the AIDA that can create great website content.
How the AIDA Model Helps Create Great Website Content
I’m here to tell you how to take this model and apply it to one of your most important marketing tools – your website. Let’s do this!
Your Website Content Should Get Awareness and Attention
Awareness/Attention: Get seen by your target audience.
Your website is hopefully awesome, chock-full of interesting content about your company, products/services, and all the other stuff that makes you great. But you need to get people there so they can see all that.
- Make sure your content is SEO-optimized. Use relevant keywords that your target audience will search for, so you’ll appear in their search results and get them clicking.
(PRO TIP: Put yourself in their searchin’ shoes – what would YOU Google if you were them?) - Post content that’s relevant to your target audience. In addition to your basic site pages, write blogs on a regular basis (and include those keywords). Interesting posts on industry trends and issues will keep them coming back.
Your Website Content Needs to Achieve Interest
Interest: Quoting Public Enemy and Li’l Wayne (in different songs) here: “show ’em what you got.”
Make sure your website content is internet-ready by including 3 important parts.
- Easy-to-read. While this piece is focused on the writing part of content, you need to be just as concerned with how your content is presented on the screen. Design and readability matter.
(PRO TIP: Remember that more people view the internet on their smartphones now than on their computers, so make sure your site uses responsive design.) - Clear and simple. Cut everything you don’t need. Edit, edit, edit. You’ve got a few seconds to keep them reading. Make it count and get your point across.
- Even the most strait-laced B2B clients want their content to be “professional but friendly.” Your brand voice needs to be clear and engaging.
How to Achieve Desire and Decision
Desire/Decision: Persuade your site visitors that you’re the best choice.
This is where you really need to have hard-working content. It’s got to be engaging and persuasive, giving them reasons to choose you as their new provider of [what you do]. A few acronyms to remember:
- “What’s In It For Me” is the ultimate question you need to answer for these folks. Will your products/services change the way they do business? Reduce their costs and grow their bottom line? Sell, sell, sell!
- Once you’ve told them what’s in it for them, they’ll need “Reasons to Believe.” Success stories, testimonials, proven results and data, all those kinds of things. That’s the content you absolutely need on your site to turn visitors into customers.
- OK, I invented this one – it means “Hire A Professional.” You don’t have to do this, but it’s so much easier to take your messaging bullet points and give them to a professional writer who can turn them into impactful copy.
Write with Action as the Goal
Action: Close the deal!
Simply, you need to make it super-easy for them to shop and buy. Provide clear ways to take action.
- Keep it simple. Give visitors obvious ways to act – “Click here,” “Add to Shopping Cart,” “Get More Info,” etc. These buttons/links can be posted on as many pages as you like. Make it as easy as possible – your user experience needs to be on-point.
- Answer any questions. Write a comprehensive FAQs page. If you can, a “Live Chat” feature is always great – just make sure that the person answering on your behalf has well-written messaging for accuracy and consistency.
- And say “Thank you!” Whether it’s a confirmation page or a pop-up message, one last “customer touch” on your website is always appreciated and shows you value their business. (Of course, follow-up emails are another way to do this – but that’s a subject for another blog post.)
Make Your Website Content Sing
It’s pretty simple. Your website is the online “face” of your business – and more often than not, it’s the first place people find you. So, if they come to your site, your ability to get their Attention, create Desire, develop their Interest and inspire them to Action can lead you to greater success!
Do you have any website content writing tips that you’d like to share? Feel free to post in the comments below. And please share this blog with your social networks if you found it interesting!
